#Bookreview – Hiding Cracked Glass by James J. Cudney

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What Amazon says

Hiding Cracked Glass (Perceptions Of Glass Book 2) Kindle Edition

A blackmail letter arrives at an inopportune moment, and the recipient’s name is blurred out. Who is the ruthless missive meant for?

In the powerful sequel to Watching Glass Shatter, Olivia is the first to read the nasty threat. When the mysterious letter falls into the wrong hands, her sons try to figure out who’s seeking revenge on them.

Across the span of eight hours, members of the Glass family contemplate whether to confess their hidden secrets, or find a way to bury them forever. Some didn’t learn an important lesson last time, and as each hour ticks by, the family has to come to terms with what happened in the previous months.

Their lives are about to shatter into pieces once again, and this time the stakes are even higher.

My review

Hiding Cracked Glass is the second book in the Perceptions of Glass series. I have read the first book and while you can read and enjoy this book as a standalone novel, having the background to the characters and the deaths of Ben, the patriarchal figure, and Ethan, the youngest and most loving and loved brother of the five Glass sons, is helpful.

Olivia returns home after a trip to Italy with her sister, Diana. Her plans are to continue to disengage from the family home which is now occupied by her son, Matthew, his wife and four daughters. Matthew and his family have settled in and even employed a housekeeper, who is hugely unsuitable in Olivia’s opinion. Pilar is far to attractive and also inexperienced for the position. Will Olivia be proved correct?

Diana has recently separated from her husband of many years and met an attractive man on holiday, which is, in Olivia’s view, a good thing for her. Diana’s divorce has not, however, as yet been agreed to by George who is being exceptionally greedy and wants half of her inheritance from Ben’s estate.

Olivia and Diana plan to move in together and have great plans for the future, but first Olivia must celebrate her birthday with her family. Her four surviving sons will all gather for the evening; Caleb, his husband, Jake, and their new baby, Teddy and his wife, Sarah, whose baby’s birth is imminent, Zach, who has recently won custody of his daughter from his drug addict ex-girlfriend, and Matthew, who is still recovering from drug addiction and the loss of his job due to corporate theft.

A letter arrives during the course of the afternoon of the birthday but the addressee is obscured. Olivia receives the letter and plans to keep it to herself, believing its blackmailing message is for her, but the letter is accidentally read out with the birthday messages and every member of the Glass family believes it is addressed to them. Who is the foul message really for?

Olivia is just as cold and self absorbed in this book as she was previously. The loss of her husband and son did result in her taking an inventory of her life and those of her sons and reaching out to try to reunite and heal her broken family, but this hasn’t changed her innate nature. Olivia is not a person who is loving and giving, everything she does is considered and planned. She is wracked with guilt about her perceived failings as a mother, but she struggles to move on and truly right the wrongs of the past.

Diana is a lovely woman who made an unfortunate marriage. It is lovely seeing Diana coming into her own in this book and the ultimate outcome of her negative engagements with her husband are very satisfying. Diana is the person who the Glass boys turn to for comfort and support, especially Teddy.

Teddy is my favourite of the Glass sons. He is the oldest of five sons and his father was a successful, self made man. I have met men like this during my corporate working life and I always feel empathy for the burden such men carry. They feel driven to step up and perform and to at a minimum follow in their father’s illustrious footsteps. Teddy has spent his whole life proving to the world that he is worthy to be his father’s heir and is able to carry the mantle of leadership. Although Teddy faces some new traumas in this book, he is able to make peace with his life and I am hoping to see him move on to better and more positive things in a future book.

Zach is attracted to his dead brother’s wife, Emma. This is an impossible situation and the author handles this in the only real possible way. Zach is pulling his life together and is a good dad to his lovely daughter. Zach is also a great character and I look forward to reading more about him in the future.

Caleb finds his new role as a father a bit of a struggle and is distracted by the allure of sexy men who offer a glimpse of his old, pre-baby life. Caleb needs to thrash out what he really wants from life and who is important to him.

Matthew is my least favourite character as I find him spoiled and selfish. He seeks to blame others for the hash he’s made of his life and doesn’t want to face up to his mistakes. I felt sorry for his wife who has four young children to raise and also needs to offer endless support to her husband and keep him on the straight and narrow. Matt does improve over the course of the book and also start to realise that no-one is entitled to anything in life that they haven’t proved themselves worthy of having. It will be interesting to see if Matt can keep on the straight and narrow as this series progresses.

Hiding Cracked Glass is a compelling family drama with a strong central story line and many interesting threads that all weave together in the end to form a detailed and fascinating story. 

Purchase Hiding Cracked Glass by James J. Cudney

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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43 thoughts on “#Bookreview – Hiding Cracked Glass by James J. Cudney”

  4. I have to admit I zipped past the review because I already know this one’s waiting on my Kindle. Maybe after I’m done and leave a review, I’ll come back and compare notes. One of my quirks is I don’t like to be influenced by other reviewers.

    Liked by 2 people

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    2. That’s interesting, Pete. I usually only read reviews for a book I’ve read after I’ve finished it too. I like to compare what other people thought of a novel compared to me, but I am never influenced by it – it is more curiosity.

      Liked by 3 people

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  6. Robbie,

    I am absolutely stunned and thrilled by such a wonderful review. I appreciate all the wonderful detail you’ve provided too. Matthew is definitely the selfish brother; I wanted him to be the one everyone’s frustrated with in this book, similar to how Teddy was in the first book. Maybe they will all get a turn! I can’t wait to share this, and I an thoroughly grateful.

    Jay

    Liked by 2 people

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  7. Great review Robbie. I have been enjoying this series as well and would love to see more of the Glass family. I have enjoyed the characters and the growth that some of them have had.

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. What a great review, Robbie. I loved your in depth look at the characters in this novel. I read the first in the series, enjoyed it immensely and have this one on my Kindle and my TBR. Congrats to Jay!

    Liked by 2 people

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